Getting the Happily Ever After
by NettieC
Summary: With their daughter turning 10 and Harm turning 50 there should be great celebrations in the MacKenzie-Rabb household but no-one is in the mood for parties. (Stand alone story written for HBX Challenge)


Disclaimer: all the usual stuff...

Getting the Happily Ever After

October was supposed to be a celebratory month in the MacKenzie-Rabb household. Not only was the Navy Ball on the agenda but Alannah was turning 10 on the 22nd and Harm was reaching the big 5-0 the following day. Harm had been adamant that he did not want a party, surprise or otherwise, for his birthday and Alannah was just as emphatic about not wanting one either.

October would also mark a year since Alannah had joined them and Harm and Mac wanted to do something special for her, but she seemed reluctant to celebrate that either.  
"Mac," Alannah said quietly, creeping into the master bedroom in the early hours one morning. "Mac."  
"What's up, honey?" Mac replied, propping herself up on her elbow.  
"I'm cold," she said placing her cold hand on her mother's face.  
"Oooh," she said with a shiver, "Come on in and I'll warm you up."

Mac eased herself backwards as the young girl slid in alongside her, cuddling in and gaining all the warmth she could. Within minutes Alannah was asleep while Mac was awake and thinking of just how much their lives had changed since she joined them.

It had been at the Navy Ball the year before that they had become aware of Alannah. Dressed to the nines, Harm and Mac had enjoyed a divine evening of dinner, dancing and great company celebrating the Navy's birthday. The ball was elegant and delightful and while different to the ones they had celebrated in the US, they had attended eight in London now and were used to the English way of doing things.

After spending the first few years in London looking after Mattie while also completing an undergraduate course, then post graduate studies in Linguistics at Oxford University, Mac commenced work in the diplomatic field which saw her based at the US Embassy in London. She and Harm shared a small home in St John's Wood which came with his posting, whilst Mattie was a resident in a rehabilitation facility in Stokenchurch, nearly an hour from London. They had a flat in a nearby street and this had proved handy for Mac as she split her time between Harm, Mattie and her studies at Oxford.

Mattie had made significant progress after her near-fatal accident; however, it was clear early on that she required more ongoing care than Mac or Harm could give. It took a long time and a lot of counselling to accept it but once they did things improved dramatically and Mattie was thriving, able to complete a range of courses and take up a few new hobbies.

They also worked through a few years of couples counselling when it became apparent that they would not have their own child. After a long commitment to fertility treatments failed to provide the offspring they longed for and with considerations to their ages and the impact it was having on their relationship, Harm and Mac decided to stop trying. While they could be clinical with the doctor, it didn't stop the tears and pain once they returned home and they sought comfort in each other and counselling.

Then, the ball the previous year changed things completely.  
Chatting amiably to a work colleague who was also in attendance, Mac watched as the man's face changed as he read a text.  
"Bad news, Steve?" she asked quietly.  
"The damn Cameron case," he said shaking his head. "It's a sad and sorry thing."  
Mac shook her head; she wasn't familiar with the name. "What is?"

Ushering Mac over to a quiet area, Steve Phillips outlined the Cameron case to date.  
Alannah Cameron was eight years old, her mother, Amanda, was a US Air Force Technical Sergeant and her father, Barry, and had been a RAF Chief Technician. They had met nine years previous when they had both been stationed at the NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen, Germany. Loving the US lifestyle, Barry had resigned from the RAF and they had based themselves in California while Amanda continued to serve. Amanda's mother, Frieda had lived with them and had, for long periods, been the child's primary caregiver. While it wasn't always a happy home it was home and all Alannah knew for the first five years of her life.

Then, when her parents' relationship broke up, the young girl got caught in the middle of the turmoil which surrounded them. With her mother deployed, Barry took Alannah to the UK on the pretence of visiting his sick grandmother but never intended to return. When Frieda's attempts to speak to her son-in-law over the space of a week were unsuccessful she contacted her daughter who in turn sought legal advice.

After locating her now estranged husband, nearly three months later, and initiating legal proceedings to have the child returned to The States, Alannah was returned to her grandmother's care. Amanda had taken all the leave she could and by the time the child was seven she was very settled and happy in California with her grandmother, she deployed once more.

Tragically, Amanda was killed during the deployment and Barry used the opportunity to gain custody of his daughter and they returned to England. When Alannah made a claim of abuse to her school's welfare officer Child Service's removed her and, when the case was proven, custody was awarded to Frieda and so the child was shipped across The Pond once more and that should have been the end of it but Frieda's health had deteriorated and Barry's parents commenced legal proceedings for custody of the traumatised child. With her health failing and finances diminished, Frieda reluctantly gave up the fight and then six months previous the child was returned to England.

"Wow!" said Mac, tears threatening to spill at the plight of this little girl.  
"Yeah, wow!" Steve echoed. "Reading her file is like a Shakespearean tragedy. She has gone from a bright, bubbly, outgoing child to being a withdrawn, introverted shadow of herself."  
"It's no wonder," she replied shaking her head. "So, what's wrong now?" she asked pointing to his cell.  
"Alannah has run away three times in the past two months," he said sadly. "She desperately wants to go back to The States and keeps turning up at the Embassy but Frieda can't care for her and there's no other family."  
"Poor kid," Mac said. "Has she run away again?"  
"No," he replied. "The Child Services case manager is reporting that Alannah is not eating and thinks she may flee again."  
"What do her grandparents think about the whole thing?" she asked wanting nothing more than to take the girl in herself and give her the world.  
"At the start they thought they were doing the right thing but now I think they wish it would just all go away," he said. "I think this might push them over the edge and they'll relinquish her."  
"What would happen then?" she questioned, scanning the area for Harm.  
"I don't know," he said shaking his head. "She'd go into care but whether that's here or California is anyone's guess."

Within days Harm and Mac had met the child and after long discussions with Child Services, the paternal grandparents and maternal grandmother, they began to foster Alannah. The child had agreed as it would mean she had a link to America and it meant the chance of returning there one day.

It hadn't been easy at the start and more than once Mac felt they were in over their heads but soon they were comfortable around each other and Alannah was eating once more. The months flew by and her foster parents delighted at seeing the girl transforming back into the bright, bubbly one they had only heard of.

In summer, and with permission from Child Services, the family had spent a month in California seeing Frieda as well as Harm's parents. Mattie had accompanied them and, with Harm's time in London coming to an end with his retirement early in the new year, they were looking at suitable facilities for her as well as accommodation for them.  
Alannah had spent many days with her grandmother but even at eight years of age could tell the old lady wasn't able to care for her. It was her first real acceptance that she would never return to her early childhood home.

Happy enough with Harm and Mac, the child was devastated when she heard them discuss their impending move one night when they were in La Jolla. They had already commenced legal action to be granted permanent care of Alannah, giving them the ability to move her with them and had discussed it with her paternal grandparents. However, Alannah was not privy to this information and by the time school recommenced in early September she was regressing once more.

Now it was mid-October, the ball once more in the diary. With Harm away in Paris at a conference, Mac cradled the child to her and wondered where things had gone wrong. Caught up in her thoughts of the preceding months, Mac was surprised by the little voice which came from under the covers.  
"When do I have to say goodbye?" she asked, her accent mixed, testimony to her history.  
"Goodbye to whom, sweetie?" Mac asked, tilting the child's face up.  
"To you and Harm and Mattie," she said quietly.  
"What makes you think you have to say goodbye?" she asked, caressing her face.  
"I know you are all moving back to California, I heard you talking to Harm's mum and dad," she said, the first of her tears falling. "When do I have to say goodbye to you?"  
"Oh, Alannah, is this why you've been sad lately?" Mac asked pulling the child closer to her as Alannah nodded. "We are planning to return home when Harm retires next year but we are returning as a family."  
"I know, I heard Mattie talking about a place she could live in La Jolla," Alannah said with a sniffle.  
"In all your listening in, didn't you hear us say we'd be taking you too?" Mac asked ignoring the tears streaming down her own face.  
"No," Alannah said with a shake of her head. "No, I didn't."  
"Oh, honey," Mac said, pulling her closer still. "When we return to The States, you will be coming with us. We have applied for permanent care and once that decision is made, you are ours until you are 18, meaning you can move with us."  
"Oh," she said swiping at her tears. "What happens if you don't get permanent care?"  
"We will," Mac said firmly. "All of your grandparents and Child Services have agreed, so it's just a formality. Do you know what that means?"  
"Aha," she said. "It means you're just making it final."  
"Something like that," Mac said, kissing the child's head. "How do you feel now?"  
"Better," she said, the tears still falling. "I was just really worried about where I'd end up. I love you and Harm and Mattie and I didn't want to lose you too."  
"We love you very much and you're not going to lose us," she said, kissing the child again and again.  
"Good," Alannah whispered snuggling in closer before they drifted off to sleep once more.

It was an hour later that Mac felt the bed dip behind her.  
"Wasn't expecting you home," Mac said, craning her head to look at her husband.  
"Me neither," he replied. "I'm not really here," he added. "Just decided to go UA for a bit – call it Captain's Privilege."  
"Everything alright?" she asked, wishing she could turn and face him but being restricted by Alannah.  
"Yeah," he said slowly, nestling into her and running his hand over her body, discovering their daughter. "Just had the feeling I needed to be home with you both."  
"We need you here too," she said before quietly telling him what had transpired.  
"Well, I guess that explains her regression and why she didn't really feel up to celebrating her birthday," Harm said, stroking Alannah's back.  
"And why aren't you up to celebrating yours?" Mac asked, resting her hand on his.  
"Because Alannah didn't want a birthday celebration and it didn't feel right for me to have one and for her not too..." he stated before his voice trailed.  
"And what else?" Mac prompted.  
Harm smiled against his wife's head, she knew him so well. "I'm 50...50! I guess I'm having a little trouble accepting that too. I finally have everything I could ever want – a beautiful wife, two beautiful girls, a wonderful career, retirement to look forward too...but I just can't believe I'm turning 50."  
"I can't believe it either," she said with a laugh. "But if 60 is the new 40, then 50 must be the new 30. "  
"True," he said. "I wish I had the energy I had when I was 30 though."  
"Oh, I think you have plenty of energy just how you are," she said squeezing his hand. "The only difference is now it's a controlled and stable energy. Back then, you were a bit wild and reckless."  
"Well, that's one way to look at it, I guess," he said slowly before kissing her head.  
"You sure that's all it is?" Mac asked, reaching her hand up and backwards to caress his face.  
"Yeah, just a bit tired," he replied with a yawn. "A good night's sleep and I'll be as good as new."  
"Maybe tomorrow we can plan a family celebration," she suggested as Harm nestled in closer to her. "And the four of us can do something special."  
"Have anything particular in mind?" he said yawning once more.  
"I was thinking that a mini-break might be good," she said squeezing his hand.  
"And where were you thinking?" he whispered, not wanting to wake their daughter.  
"Well, Lani loved Disneyland and was desperate to go again ... well, before this recent turmoil, so I thought a few days at EuroDisney might brighten everyone up," she explained, desperate to turn over and look into her husband's eyes.  
"Sounds like a good plan," Harm said. "Bet we'll spend lots of time at Space Mountain," he continued and Mac was sure she could hear a smile in his voice. "She loved it last time. How many times did we do it? Four? Five?"  
"Eight," Mac corrected. "You and Lani did it eight times and Mattie and I did a lot of waiting."  
"You were both welcome to join us," he reminded her.  
"Not on your life," she said with a soft chuckle. "It's one thing being hurtled around in the air when you have to be but I'm not going to do it as a leisure pursuit."  
"You don't know what you're missing, Mac," he said laughing.  
"Oh, I have a fair idea," she said before the chatter disappeared and both drifted off to sleep.

It was Alannah who woke first, a little before nine.  
"Oh gosh, the time," Alannah said looking at the alarm clock and realising she should have been at school. "I'm going to be so late."  
"No school for you today, missy," Mac said, rubbing the child's arm.  
"Why not?" she asked, rolling over to face her mother.  
"We are going to have some family time," she explained. "And chat about what will be happening in the coming months. We want to make sure you understand it."  
"We can't have family time with just the two of us, can we?" she asked, after all they were only two members of the family.  
"Well, you, me and Harm are here this morning and Mattie will be here in the afternoon," she said attempting to stretch in the crowded bed.  
"But Harm's in Paris," Alannah replied. "He's there for two more days.  
"Harm is right behind me..." she started and Alannah sat up and peered over Mac. "He will have to go back to Paris later this afternoon, but he's here now."

Watching her daughter's face, Mac knew the instant Harm was awake as Alannah's face lit up.  
"Hi, Harm," she said almost shyly.  
"Hello, Lani," he replied reaching out for her hand.  
"Why are you home just for the day?" she asked, entwining her fingers with his.  
"I was missing my girls so much and just needed to come home for some hugs," he said honestly.  
"I was missing you too," she said climbing over Mac to Harm's open arms. "Lots."  
"Mac told me you were worried we were going home without you," he said, kissing her head as she cuddled into him.  
"Aha," she replied as Mac finally rolled over and looked at her husband.  
"That's never going to happen, Alannah Jane Cameron," he stated emphatically. "Wherever we go we will go together."  
"Even to Timbuktu?" she asked with a laugh.  
"Yes, even to Timbuktu," he replied kissing her head once more.  
"With this permanent care thingy..." she started looking from one parent to the other. "Will I get a new name?"  
"What sort of new name?" Mac asked, knowing it wasn't customary to change the name of a foster child, even one in permanent care.  
"Do I get to be a MacKenzie – Rabb like you two?" she asked, her eyes beginning to shine with unshed tears.  
"Is that what you want?" Harm asked, not sure if they would be able to do it.  
"Aha," she said nodding. "It's what I actually wanted for my birthday ... I know I said I didn't want anything...but really I just wanted to be a MacKenzie –Rabb. When people ask me why I don't have the same name as my parents it's hard...I don't want to keep explaining. I don't want to feel different...I just want to belong."  
"Oh, baby," Harm said tearfully, pulling the girl to him. "Regardless of your name you will always belong with Mac and me. You are very much a part of our family."  
"A very big part," Mac added, wiping the child's tears. "We love you so very, very much and we'll definitely see about changing your name, okay?"  
"Okay," she said nodding and sniffling at the same time. "Alannah Amanda MacKenzie – Rabb."  
"Honey," Harm said gently. "Your name is Alannah Jane."  
"I know but if we're changing it we can get rid of Jane and put mom's name, can't we?" she pleaded.  
"We can certainly try," he replied kissing her head once more.  
"10 will be the best birthday ever," Alannah said before snuggling into her parents and drifting off to sleep once more.

When she heard the sniffling, Mac's eyes rose from her daughter's face to her husband's.  
"What?" she whispered.  
"I feel so bad," he said looking back at Alannah.  
"Why?" Mac asked, caressing his face.  
"I was all down about my birthday just because of the number of candles on top of the cake," he explained quietly. "Yes, I'm 50 but instead of feeling grateful for the wonderful life I have I was feeling sorry for myself. This amazing little girl is turning 10 and was down about her birthday as she thought she was going to be abandoned...all she wanted for her birthday was to be a MacKenzie –Rabb and instead spent the last month thinking we were leaving her behind."  
"She is definitely amazing, isn't she?" Mac replied, smoothing down the child's brown curls.  
"Yep, and I am going to do everything in my power to give her every damn thing she wants," he said emphatically.  
"And I have no doubt you will," Mac agreed. "After all, you've done that for me."

As the weather cooled and the world went on outside the window of the MacKenzie-Rabb house, the little family remained ensconced within the warm and comfortable home. There would be challenges ahead; there would be tears, laughs and tantrums. There would be times when things would be great and other times which threatened to overwhelm them all. However, by the time Miss Alannah Amanda MacKenzie-Rabb turned 11, she was once again living on American soil and enrolled in an American school.

Then, the day after she turned 11, Harm turned 51 and when Alannah handed him his birthday card and present, she leant in to kiss him and whispered the three words he thought he'd never hear, "Happy birthday, daddy."

Tears sprung to his eyes and he struggled to find his voice.  
"Mom, why does dad look like he's going to cry?" she whispered to a teary Mac.  
"Because you just gave him, us, the best present ever," Mac replied, taking her husband and her daughter in a group hug.  
"But it's only a tie with aeroplanes on it," she said, not too sure what all the fuss was about.  
"I know," Mac said. "You just called us mom and dad."  
Alannah smiled shyly. It was something she had desperately wanted to do since they moved back to The States. At school she only ever referred to the pair as mom and dad, she just hadn't had the nerve to say it to their faces.  
"And that's okay, isn't it?" she checked even though she was pretty sure she knew the answer.  
"That's more than okay, Lani," Harm said squeezing her tightly.  
"Great!" she said before breaking away. "I've got to call Charlie...I told her I would when...well, this happened. It's alright, isn't it? I can call her?"  
"Go ahead," Mac said with a smile. "I sure she's desperate for the news."

Once Alannah had disappeared in a blur of blue sweats and brown mussed hair, Mac wrapped her arms around Harm.  
"Pretty amazing present, hey?" she said, pressing up to kiss him.  
"The best," he replied before returning her kiss. "I may have been down about turning 50 but, as it turns out, 51 has been sensational."  
"Finally got everything we ever wanted, haven't we?" Mac said, resting her head on his chest.  
"Yep," he said with a grin. "Everything except one."  
"What's that?" she asked pulling back.  
"Our 'happily ever after'," he said, pulling her closer and kissing her once more. "Our happily ever after."


End file.
